Chapter Thirty-Two: The School

  Thank you for the reward of Qingfu's peaceful amulet

  The next morning, Gu Qingjin got up early with a refreshed spirit, and after dressing up under the service of Yuanyang, she had breakfast and then headed towards the direction of the school in the mansion with Yuanyang.

  Perhaps it was after listening to Jun's words last night, or perhaps she finally could face her own mistakes, Qingjin felt that her heart was exceptionally clear, reminding her of the feeling when she passed by Jingxin Pond in Banruo Temple on the first day she stayed there with Yuanyang, feeling so comfortable as if she could fly.

  This feeling lasted until she saw Gu Qingxia at the entrance of the school, and saw Gu Qingxia's eyes full of jealousy looking at her. Alas, I really don't know why Gu Qingxia saw her as a fighting cock, Qingxi hinted that Yuanyang should stay where they were, and she herself also stopped, anyway Mr. hadn't arrived yet, she really didn't want to face the jealous Gu Qingxia.

  But she didn't want to cause trouble, it doesn't mean that trouble won't come knocking on her door. Just then, Gu Qingxia saw her stop and walked over, "Second sister, good morning, second sister's outfit is really beautiful, must have cost a lot of silver, and why did second sister stop when she saw her younger sister? Second sister didn't go over, but her younger sister still came to pay respects, otherwise people would say that the younger sister was unrefined." The implication behind her words was that Gu Qingyu was extravagant and lacked discipline.

  "One hundred and twenty." Gu Qingjin lightly spat out three words.

  "What?" Gu Qingxia was momentarily stunned.

  "Weren't you asking how much silver I spent on this outfit? One hundred taels, what do you think? Isn't it pretty?" Gu Qingjin spun around in a circle in front of Gu Qingxia, her sleeves fluttering like the vibrant colors of dawn, matching perfectly with her stunning beauty, as if she were an otherworldly enchantress.

  Even Gu Qingxia, who had been sarcastic about her, was stunned by the enchanting and seductive demeanor, and when she came to her senses again, she looked at Gu Qingjin's smiling eyes, remembered the purpose of her visit, and opened her mouth with a fierce tone: "Seductress." Later, thinking of the 100 taels that Gu Qingjin had mentioned, Gu Qingxia became even more furious. The monthly allowance for her aunt was only 50 taels, while this Gu Qingjin's clothes were worth 100 taels. She glared at Gu Qingjin with anger, wanting to reason with her for herself and her aunt. If she knew the price that Gu Qingjin had mentioned earlier, she would have doubled or tripled it in the Flowing Cloud Pavilion, which was the selling price. She would have directly taken a knife and hacked Gu Qingjin.

  "Second sister is so beautiful..." came over in Gu Qingyao's sweet voice.

  "Fourth sister is also very cute." Gu Qingjin looked at Gu Qingyao with a faint smile.

  Looking at Gu Qingyu, who was completely different from his cold self yesterday, Gu Qingyao's misty eyes stared at him in surprise, her small mouth slightly open.

  "What's with that expression, Fourth Sister?" Gu Qingjin asked, feigning puzzlement.

  "Yao'er... Yao'er thought that Second Sister was being cold to her at Grandma's place yesterday, and that it meant Second Sister didn't like Yao'er." She said, looking pitifully at Gu Qingyu.

  "How could Fourth Sister think that? Fourth Sister is Third Uncle's legitimate daughter, the sister in the manor with a status closest to mine. She just returned yesterday, how could she think I don't like her?"

  "I... I..."

  "Alright, we are sisters of the same clan and surname, we should support and care for each other. Let's go, hurry up to class, the teacher may have arrived already." Then she led Yuanyang forward.

  "Okay, Fourth Sister, can Yaoyao be with Second Sister?" Gu Qingyao looked at Gu Qingyun with full of expectation.

  Gu Qingjin stopped in his tracks and smiled harmlessly, "What's taking you so long?!"

  Gu Qingyao happily followed Gu Qingjin's footsteps.

  A spacious room, with several black-lacquered desks arranged in it. The newly arrived Qingyao sat beside Qingjin, her warm smile like a sunflower facing the sunlight.

  Qing Jin gazed at Gu Qing Yao's warm smile with her eyes narrowed, while a turmoil of dark clouds churned in her heart. At that moment, a man approaching forty years old walked in, exuding an air of refinement and elegance, his eyes flashing with a hint of brightness as he spotted Gu Qing Jin.

  Gu Qingjin and Gu Qingxia stood up, and Gu Qingyao next to them saw that Qingjin had stood up and immediately followed suit. Behind them, Gu Qingqi saw everyone standing up and also hastily rose to their feet. The several people followed Gu Qingjin in bowing their heads and paying respects: "Greetings, sir."

  A man approaching forty sat down, nodded in satisfaction and gestured with his hand. After the sisters had taken their seats, he first tested Qingyao and Qingqi by asking each of them to write a poem on rice paper.

  Gu Qingjin smiled faintly as she watched Gu Qingyao put away her smile, picked up a pen and seriously wrote down a four-character ancient poem on the paper. The handwriting was round and neat, and after blowing dry the ink, she presented it to Mr., with Gu Qingyao looking at him expectantly.

  "Not bad, neat handwriting, but lacks charm."

  The master put down the Xuan paper and picked up another one, handing it to Gu Qingyao, praising: "This was written by the second young lady last year. You take it back and study it carefully, it will be beneficial for the fourth young lady."

  Gu Qingyao lowered her head, looking at the words on the rice paper, which were better than hers. The poem's meaning and style were also something she couldn't write herself. She stole a glance at Gu Qingjin, whose expression remained unchanged and didn't show any pride despite Mr. Yan's praise. It turned out that she was far inferior to her second sister.

  Gu Qingjin subtly noticed Gu Qingyao's dejected expression, okay, she admitted that when Gu Qingyao smiled at her like a sunflower, she felt evil inside. So in the next class, she actively answered Mr.'s questions, using her adult thinking to respond perfectly to Mr.'s questions, even bringing up some novel views and ideas she had seen before. Looking at Gu Qingyao's increasingly dejected expression and lowered head, she said it didn't matter, but she still couldn't let go, she really wanted to know whether Gu Qingyao was a real saint or a fake moralist.

  She wondered what Gu Qingyao would do when she faced a second sister who was always better than her, more outstanding than her, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch up.

  After class, the teacher walked away with his feet. Qingjin pretended to smile and asked beside Gu Qingyao, who was hanging her head in despair, "Did you not understand what the teacher said about the fourth sister today? If you don't understand, you can ask Second Sister."

  Upon hearing Qingjin's words, Gu Qingyao next to her lifted her head. There was no warmth in her eyes as she looked at Qingjin, nor was there a sweet smile on her face. Her complexion was filled with despair as she spoke to Qingjin, "Thank you, Second Sister. I don't understand anything."

  "That's good." Seeing Gu Qingyao looking like she was about to die, Gu Qingjin's mood inexplicably improved.

  Next to Gu Qingxia, seeing Qingjin's happy face and then looking at the depressed Gu Qingyao, Gu Qingxia, who had been remembering the clothes on Qingjin's body, finally couldn't help but speak out, "Second sister, fourth sister and sixth sister are all here for the first time today in school, you've been pulling Mr. to ask questions nonstop, not giving fourth sister and sixth sister any chance to ask Mr. questions, those who know think it's because second sister is diligent and loves to ask questions, but those who don't know would think that second sister doesn't love her sisters, only knows how to be competitive."